Skirt hanger



Fb.2 5,1958 K. R; PAUL I 2,824,678

' SKIRT HANGER Filed Aug. 8, 1955 IN VEN TOR.

KE/VNE TH R. PAUL ATTORNEYS United States Patent SKIRT HANGER Kenneth R.Paul, Corvallis, Oreg.

Application August 8, 1955, Serial No. 526,953 8 Claims. (Cl. 223-88)This invention relates to improvements in garment supporting means, andmore specifically relates to devices for hanging skirts and similararticles of wearing apparel.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide skirtsupporting means which is simple in structure and inexpensive tomanufacture and which is eflicient for holding skirts thereon withoutinjuring or creasing said skirt.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide skirtsupporting attachment means which utilizes a conventional wire-type coathanger as the frame structure therefor.

A still further object is to provide skirt supporting means havingimproved spring operated slide means adapted to move in relativehorizontal directions for engaging said skirt.

Another object is to provide a garment hanger having improved adjustmentmeans for varying the lateral reach of said hanger.

The above described objects are accomplished by an assembly comprising,briefly, a pair of slide members and a pair of caps arranged removablyto be mounted on a conventional wire-type coat hanger. The slide membersare urged toward opposite ends of the hanger by spring means and havegarment engaging members thereon for frictionally supporting a garment.The garment engaging members have longitudinally adjustable means forvarying the lateral reach of the device wherein different size garmentsmay be held thereon.

The invention will be better understood and additional objects andadvantages will become apparent from the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferredforms of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that theinvention may take still other forms and that all such modifications andvariations within the scope of the appended claims which will occur topersons skilled in the art are included in the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of a conventional wire type coat hangerwith the present skirt engaging attachment thereon;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 andshowing in particular the garment engaging members and means for varyingthe effective lateral reach of the hanger;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, showingthe cap structure which engages end portions of a conventional hanger;

Figure 4 is an elevational view of a portion of the cap structure;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure l;

Figure 7 is an elevational view of a'modified form of cap structure;

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-'-8 of Figure 7 ;'and

"ice

Figure 9 is a sectional view showing a modified form of slide member.

Referring to the drawings and more specifically to Figure 1, the numeral10 refers generally to a conventional wire-type coat hanger having ahook 11, laterally extending sloping shoulder bars 12, and a horizontalbar 13. This type of hanger is used for supporting articles of clothingsuch as coats, blouses, shirts, trousers, and the like, but by itself isnot satisfactory for supporting skirts and like garments because suchgarments must in some way be positively gripped to be held thereon.

A preferred form of the present invention is shown in Figures l-6 and isadapted to be applied to the type of hanger described. The inventioncomprises, in general, a pair of caps 14 and a pair of slide members 15and 16. The caps 14 are D-shaped and have a central slot or recess 17forming opposite side walls 18 and 19..

The recess 17 of each cap is shaped so as to conform substantially tothe contour of the end portions of the coat hanger 10 and the caps aremounted on the hanger by engagement of said end portions in therecesses. The caps 14 are positively secured in place by means ofinserts 20, Figure 4, which fit in the recesses 17 after the cap is inplace and abut the inner radius of curvature of the end portions of thehanger, the inserts 20 each having an apertured ear 20a thereon. Thecaps 14 and the inserts 20 are apertured at 21 and 22, respectively, toreceive transverse pins 23 which hold the inserts in place relative tothe caps and insure a positive engagement between the caps and thehanger. If desired, however, the insert 20 may be omitted because thecapswill generally be held in place by other mechanism of the attach--ment to be described.

Each of the slides 15 and 16 has an upper longitudinal enlargement 24provided with a central bore 25 to formv a tubular or sleeve portion forslidably mounting the slides on the horizontal bar portion 13 of thehanger. A longitudinal slot 26 is provided in one side of the sleeveportions 24 and provides an opening for readily attaching said slide tothe coat hanger by moving the horizontal bar portion 13 through the slot26. The bores 25 of' the sleeves are slightly larger than the barportion 13 of the hanger so that the slides will move freelylongitudinally thereof, and the slots 26 are preferably slightly'narrower than the diameter of the bar 13 so that the slides must beforced into engagement with the bar and, therefore, will not beaccidentally displaced therefrom when once applied on the hanger.

Slides 15 and 16 have bottom longitudinal enlargementsor guide portions29 and 30, respectively, each having a central bore 31 open at the outerend and closed at the inner end. The interior walls of bores 31 in eachenlarge-- ment 29 and 31 are provided with top and bottom grooves 32 and33, respectively, and as will be seen in Figure 2, the groove 32 in theslide 15 extends the full length of the bore 31 and the groove 33extends approximately half the length of bore 31. In the slide 16 thetop groove' 32 extends approximately half the length of bore 31 and thebottom groove 33 extends the full length. Slidably mounted in the bores31 of the slides 15 and 16 are plungers or pusher rods 35 and 36,respectively, each provided with a head portion 37 having a pair offlanges 38' and 39. The plunger 35 is provided with a full length toptongue or ridge 4t) and the plunger 36 is provided with a full lengthbottom tongue or ridge 41.

The tongue structure on the plungers 35 and 36am: the groove arrangementin the interior of bottom en largements 29 and 30 accomplish adjustmentof the reach of the hanger so that skirts of different sizes maybemounted thereon. To illustrate, when the plunger 35 is mounted in thebore 31 of the left slide 15, as shown inv the drawings, the tongue'40engages the-full'lengthtop groove 32 and the plunger is therebypermitted to move the full length of the bore 31. As the plunger 36 hasits tongue 41 on the bottom side thereof and the bottom groove 3,3extends the full length ofthe bore31 in the slide 16, the plunger 36 canlikewise move the full length of, the bore 31 in said slide. When it isdesired to adjust the reach of the skirt hanger, however, the twoplungers are interchanged to the opposite slide members, as shown indotted lines in Figure 2. Therefore, with the plunger 35 in the slide16, the tongue 4%) engages in the short groove 32 and the inwardmovement of the plunger is limited by engagement of the tongue 40 withthe end wall of the groove 32 to hold the plunger in extended position.Similarly, when the plunger 36 is mounted in the slide 15, the fulllength bottom tongue 51 engages in short groove 33 and holds the plunger36 in extended position. The lateral reach of the hanger may thus beadjusted for skirts of different waist sizes.

Slides and 16 are provided with upstanding finger grips 45 and arebiased toward the ends of the hanger by springs 46 connected between thefinger grips 45 and the ears a on the inserts 20.

To mount a skirt on the present device, the skirt band is buttoned orzipped, as the case may be, and is placed over the two oppositelydirected plungers, the slides 15 and 16 being drawn together toward thecenter of the hanger a suflicient amount by manual engagement of fingertabs 45 so that the plungers engage the inner portion of the waist band.When the slides are released, the springs bias the plungers outwardly toengage the skirt band and support the skirt. The flame 38 on the head 37of each plunger projects over the top edge of the skirt band so that theskirt cannot slip upwardly relative to the head and be releasedtherefrom. The flange 39 establishes a frictional engagement with theskirt band to prevent accidental displacement of the skirt from thehanger.

Figures 7 and 8' show a modified form of cap 14 which is formed from apair of mating halves 50 and 51 provided with opposed recesses 52 in theabutting surfaces. Recesses 52 assume a contour similar to the endportion of a coat hanger whereby the two halves 50 and 51 are adapted tobe clamped on a coat hanger by means of a screw 53.

Figure 9 shows a modified form of slide member 55 utilizing an integralrod or arm portion 56 provided with a head 37'. Similar to the preferredembodiment, head 37' has a top flange 38' for preventing a skirt fromaccidentally moving upwardly relative to the head and has a frictionflange 39 to insure a positive grip on the skirt.

The present device may be inexpensively made from plastic or othermaterial and may be made available to customers in kits which may bereadily applied to a conventional wire-type coat hanger. The assembleddevice is readily manipulated by one hand whereby the skirt can bemounted thereon by the opposite hand. The skirt is removed simply bypulling it downwardly out of frictional engagement with the heads 37.

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may beused, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. An attachment for a garment hanger of the type having a horizontalsupporting bar, comprising a pair of tubular members adapted to beslidably mounted on said bar, said tubular members having full lengthslots through the walls thereof for removably mounting said members onsaid bar, biasing means engageable with said members for urging saidmembers in opposite directions, and means on said members forfrictionally engaging a garment to be supported thereby.

2. An attachment for a garment hanger of the type having a horizontalsupporting bar terminating in upwardly turned end portions, comprising apair of slides adapted to be mounted on said bar, cap members adapted tobeclamped'on said end portions, biasing means connected between said capmembers and said slides for urging said slides toward said cap members,and head means on said slides for frictionally engaging a garment to besupported thereby.

3. A garment hanger comprising a supporting bar, a pair of slide membersmovable on said bar, said slide members being biased in oppositedirections and having longitudinal guide portions suspended below saidbar, rods slidable in said guide portions, and means on said rods forengaging a garment to be carried thereon.

4. A garment hanger comprising a supporting bar, a pair of membershaving a first longitudinal bore slidably receiving said bar, saidmembers having full length longitudinal slots through the walls thereofcommunicating with said bores for removably mounting said slides on saidbar, and biasing means arranged to urge said members in oppositedirections, said members having a second longitudinal bore slidablyreceiving therein rod portions engageable with the garment to be carriedby said hanger.

5. A garment hanger comprising a supporting bar, a pair of membershaving a first longitudinal bore slidably receiving said bar, saidmembers having full length longitudinal slots through the walls thereofcommunicating with said bores for removably mounting said slides on saidbar, and biasing means arranged to urge said members in oppositedirections, said members having a second longitudinal bore disposedbelow said first bore and slidably receiving therein rods engageablewith the garment to be carried by said hanger, said rods havingadjustable engagement in said second bores for varying the lateral reachof said hanger.

6. An attachment for a wire-type coat hanger having a horizontalsupporting bar, comprising a pair of members adapted to be slidablymounted on said bar, tubular guide portions on said members each havinginternal grooves of different length, rods slidably mounted in saidguide portions and having projecting portions arranged to engage agarment, and tongues on said rods engageable in said grooves, said rodsbeing interchangeable in said guide portions wherein in saidinterchanged positions said rods project a ditferent distance from saidguide portions.

7. An attachment for a wire-type coat hanger of the type having ahorizontal supporting bar, comprising a pair of members adapted to beslidably mounted on said bar, a pair of tubular guide portions on saidmembers, rods slidably mounted in said guide portions and projectingfrom one end thereof to provide a lateral reach for said hanger forsupporting skirts and the like, said tubular guide portions each havinga pair of internal longitudinal grooves, each of said grooves in a pairbeing of different length, and abutment guide members on said rodsengageable in said grooves, said rods being interchangeable in saidguide portions wherein in interchanged positions said rods project adifferent distance out of said guide portions.

8. An attachment for a garment hanger of the type having a horizontalsupporting bar terminating in turned end portions, comprising a pair ofslides adapted to be mounted on said bar, cap members adapted to beclamped on said end portions, said cap members having an interioropening with confining Walls thereof assuming the con tour of said endportions wherein said cap members fit snugly on said hanger in clampedposition, biasing means connected between said cap members and saidslides for urging said slides toward said cap members, and head means onsaid slides for frictionally engaging a garment to be supported thereby.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,553,140 Chidley Sept. 8, 1925 2,326,256 Russell Aug. 10, 19432,562,368 Robison et a1 July 31, 1951 2,732,982 Leonard Jan. 3.1, 1956

